A father-of-three who had his Tesco Clubcard barcode tattooed on his wrist says he now only goes to the supermarket for the meal deal, as prices have risen too high for his family. Dean Mayhew, 34, a scaffolder from Bideford, north Devon, got the QR code for his card inked on his arm in July 2022, and it works perfectly under the scanner at the till. However, he says he no longer uses it for his weekly shopping because Tesco has become too expensive.
Why He Stopped Shopping at Tesco
Speaking about the Clubcard, Dean said: "I don't even shop at Tesco anymore. You might get a couple of products a little bit cheaper but they're the ones no one wants anyway." He received the tattoo on July 16, 2022, from artist Dan Rossetter, 39, at A Star Tattoo in Chessington, Surrey. He had been considering it for months and headed straight to the nearest Tesco Express to try it out.
Talking to Sell Us Your Story, he said: "Sometimes when I go in there, the cashier doesn't believe it's real - I have to tell them 'just scan it please' and they're shocked." Dean says he has now stopped doing his weekly shops at Tesco since prices began to soar. He said: "Even a midweek shop for a few days of food was costing us around £200. I haven't done my weekly shop there for over a year now. I go to Morrisons or Asda. It's a lot cheaper."
Price Comparison Data
Research by Which? analysed the prices of 93 popular branded and own-brand groceries – including milk, cheese and Hovis sliced bread – at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets throughout September to see how they compared. Asda was cheaper for a weekly shop than Tesco, with the bill at Asda coming to £186.71 and Tesco's coming to £193.45. Although with a Clubcard, Tesco's weekly shop came down to £187.71.
Meal Deal and No Regrets
Dean says occasionally his tattoo still comes in handy on his lunch break at work. He said: "Every now and then I get a meal deal from Tesco. No one can complain about a meal deal, you know, £3.50 for a drink, crisps and sandwich. I use it for that. But I don't do big shops in there anymore."
Despite not shopping at Tesco anymore, Dean says he has "no regrets" about getting the ink. He said: "It's in the past, you know. And it's a conversation starter. It's just a laugh isn't it."
